Daily Chumash & Rashi Parshas Teruma – Revi’i: The Kerashim – beams (Wednesday, 1st Adar)

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Revi’i

  1. The Kerashim/beams:
  • You shall make beams for the Mishkan. Make 20 beams for the southern side and 20 beams for the northern side. The west side is to have 6 beams, plus two corner beams, for a total of 8 beams.
  • Material: The beams are to be made from acacia-shittim wood. They are to be coated with gold.
  • Dimensions: Each beam is to be 10 Amos in length and 1.5 Amos in width.
  • Its particulars: The beams are to be erected in a standing position. Each beam is to contain two projecting pieces of wood [i.e. tenons] which are perfectly aligned across each other. You are to make silver sockets for the beams, two sockets per beam, for each of its tenons. Thus, the 20 beams of the southern side are to have 40 silver sockets and the 20 beams of the northern side are to have 40 silver sockets. The 8 beams of the western side are to have 16 silver sockets. Every beam is to contain a groove on each of its sides which will allow for rings to be placed on every pair of beams, thus attaching all the beams together. The rings are to be made of gold.
  • The poles: You are to make five poles of acacia-shittim wood for three sides of the Mishkan, five for the northern side, five for the southern side, and five for the western side, for a total of 15 poles. The poles are to be inserted into the beams and extend from one end to the next. The poles are to be coated with gold.

Questions and Answers on Rashi’s Commentary (Exodus 26)

  1. Why does the Torah say “הַקְּרָשִׁים – the planks” instead of simply “planks”?

Answer:
Rashi explains that the definite article “the” implies that these planks were already prepared beforehand. Jacob had planted cedar (acacia) trees in Egypt and told his children to take them when they left Egypt because God would one day command them to build the Mishkan from this wood.

 

  1. How does Rashi describe the orientation of the planks (“עומדים”)?

Answer:
Rashi says “standing upright”—the planks had to be placed vertically, not horizontally stacked. This ensures the height of each plank contributed fully to the wall height.

 

  1. What do we learn from the verse that each plank is “10 cubits long”?

Answer:
According to Rashi, this measurement teaches us the height of the Mishkan: 10 cubits.

 

  1. How does Rashi calculate the 30‑cubit length of the Mishkan?

Answer:
Each plank is 1.5 cubits wide, and there are 20 planks along each of the long sides.
20 × 1.5 = 30 cubits.

 

  1. How were the tenons (“ידות”) of the planks shaped?

Answer:
Rashi explains:
• The bottom of each plank was carved so that a cubit’s length remained as two “feet.”
• Each tenon was a quarter‑cubit thick on each side, with half a cubit carved out in the middle.
• They fit into hollow silver bases.

 

  1. What does the word “מְשֻלָּבוֹת” mean according to Rashi?

Answer:
It means “interlocked like rungs of a ladder”—the tenons fitted into the sockets just as ladder rungs fit into their holes.

 

  1. What does “אִשָּׁה אֶל־אֲחֹתָהּ” mean in Rashi’s explanation?

Answer:
The tenons must correspond equally—both cut to the exact same measurement—so one is not set more inward or outward than the other.

 

 

 

 

  1. How many planks were on the western (back) side, and why?

Answer:
There were six planks, plus two corner planks, for a total of eight.
This created the Mishkan’s back wall while aligning properly with the side walls.

 

  1. How were the corner planks (“מקוֹצעוֹת”) positioned?

Answer:
Each corner plank had half a cubit exposed inside, forming the 10‑cubit width, while the remaining cubit sat against the side planks to create a smooth outside corner.

 

  1. What does “flush at the bottom” (“יִהְיוּ תֹאֲמִם”) mean according to Rashi?

Answer:
It means the planks must touch directly, with no gap created by the base rims.
Therefore, the sides of the tenons were carved so the planks rested against one another seamlessly.

 

  1. How were the crossbars (“בריחים”) constructed?

Answer:
Rashi explains there were actually:
• Two upper and two lower bars, each made from two pieces (4 total pieces).
• One middle bar, a single long beam running through the planks, not on the surface.

 

  1. How did the middle crossbar pass through the planks?

Answer:
Holes were drilled through the thickness of each plank, and the middle bar passed through all of them “from end to end.”

 

  1. How were the rings and gold coverings arranged on the planks?

Answer:
Rashi describes:
• Each plank had rings to hold the crossbars.
• Additional gold tubes were attached to cover the crossbars completely when inserted.
• This created a smooth interior wall with no visible rings.

 

  1. What does “as you were shown on the mountain” mean?

Answer:
God showed Moses a visual model on Mount Sinai, teaching him the exact method for erecting the Mishkan.

Daily Chumash & Rashi Parshas Ki Sisa – Rishon: The Machatzis Hashekel and census counting; The Kiyor, The Shemen Hamishcha, The Ketores, Appointment of Betzalel, Keeping Shabbos (Sunday, 12th Adar)

March 1, 2026 No Comments

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Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and twelve children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.

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